King's Lynn 0 Hyde 0
13th November 1982
FORGET the scoreline. This was 90 minutes of pulsating non-League football of the highest calibre.Lynn and Hyde gave the big 650 crowd their money's worth - and more - as they matched each other move for move.
Hyde came to The Walks as the top scorers in the Northern Premier League to put their undoubted skills against a Lynn side who have the best defensive record.
And on the number of clear chances in the game, Hyde should have come out on top, but their accuracy let them down at the vital moment.
Yet shot for shot, more went into the Hyde goalmouth as the Linnets put together some good attacks.
That mixture, plus the enthusiasm of the crowd giving it something of a cup-tie flavour, made this a game to savour.
It started off at a fast pace, with more excitement in the first 20 minutes than some League clubs can muster in an entire game. This set the scene and the pace hardly dropped, making the eventual draw the right result at the end.
Yes, it lacked the added ingredient of goals, but how close both teams came.
Hyde, in their first attack, saw Ray Redshaw break clear for a shot which brought a one-handed save from Mick Drewery.
When the Linnets buzzed forward we had two shots from the energetic Chris Watts going wide followed by a dipping shot from Fred Easthall which the keeper Colin Darcy flicked over the bar.
In the 11th minute Hyde missed a golden chance when a corner was headed on and Peter Coyne from just a couple of yards out unbelievably hooked his shot over the bar. Coyne. a former England Schoolboys international hung his head in anguish and the Linnets breathed again.
The player Lynn clearly had to watch was George Oghani, slightly built but difficult to dispossess and good vision of the game which is perhaps why he is valued in the £10,000 region.
He roamed menacingly around the Lynn penalty area and twice his jinking runs led to frantic scrambles in front of the goal. There were appeals for a penalty when he went sprawling from one challenge, but the referee would have none of it and then, surprisingly, when given a clear chance in the 30th minute he was too slow and and Les McJannet hustled him away.
McJannet also made a goalline clearance to stop Steve Johnson's header from creeping in before the Linnets got moving again with Jim Kabia cracking in a shot which would have been the opening goal but for an offside flag.
Three times in the opening minutes of the second half Hyde got into goal-scoring positions and then failed to live up to the "hot shots" billing we gave them in Friday's LN&A. Oghani was guilty on two of these occasions - once with only Drewery to beat - and Coyne stabbed the other chance wide.
Midway through the half Lynn had their best chance of the match. Kabia setup one move for Watts who thundered a shot wide of the left hand post, then Easthall and Kabia combined to release Ray Elliott who put his low drive inches wide of the opposite post.
Kabia launched himself for one header which flashed over the bar.
It was a clear warning to Hyde that Lynn could steal the match and although they still pressed forward themselves, it was noticeable that Oghani was playing deeper.
So it ended with a point apiece and if anything there was the injustice. Both sides will, in other matches, not play half as well and get three points.
Lynn: Drewery, McJannet, Bircumshaw, Johnston. Wiles: Keeley. Elliott (sub Thompson 85 mins), Watts. Thomson. Kabia. Easthall.
Hyde: Darcy. Evans, Lacey, Johnson, Blore, Steenson, Glendon, Redshaw, Coyne, Golder, Oghani. Sub Holden,
Referee J. Penrose (Hull) Attendance 650
King's Lynn 16th, Hyde 3rd